UNDP Nepal Community Based Disaster Management Practices, 2006-2008 Acronyms BCPR Bureau for Crisis Prevention and Recovery CBDMGs Community Based Disaster Management Groups CBDMP Community Based Disaster Management Project DDC District Development Committee DRM Disaster Risk Management HIV/ AIDS Human Immuno deficiency Virus/ Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome MOHA Ministry of Home Affairs NGO Non Governmental Organization REDP Rural Energy Development Programme UNDP United Nations Development Programme VDC Village Development Committee Foreword Nepal is one of the countries in the world most vulnerable to natural disasters, including earthquakes. Increasing climate change impacts on fragile geo-physical settings, recurrent and new patterns of natural hazards like floods and landslides and degradation of the eco-systems by human activities have in the recent years taken an increasing toll on human lives, losses of properties and economic gains and investments. Recent flooding with associated loss of significant number of lives and damage to livelihood assets in the Koshi area in the east and Kanchanpur, Kailali in west Nepal in 2008 alone illustrate the severity of the problem. While there are well established immediate disaster response mechanisms at national and local levels, capacity to prepare for, mitigate risks and adapt needs to be built up. The newly approved national Strategy Disaster Risk Management in Nepal will be a key driver of this effort. Economically marginalized poor communities, who tend occupy marginalized lands such as flood plains and higher slopes that are most prone to disasters are thereby most vulnerable to disaster risks and have usually very limited, if no, coping mechanisms. While looking at disaster management planning and preparedness, it is thus essential to involve these communities in risk assessment and implementation of risk reduction activities. Recognizing the imperative need to assist communities at the local level prepare and protect themselves to the extent possible from these disasters, UNDP decided to pilot a locally based, community focused Disaster Risk Management Programme. This 2 year community mitigation and preparedness work in pilot districts under the Community Based Disaster Management Programme, carried out in collaboration with MOHA and the District Disaster Relief Committees, has contributed to developing approaches and methodologies, training and community engagement packages, which have clearly contributed to enhanced disaster and disaster preparedness awareness, risk reduction and increased community resilience towards disaster. Target communities have been very receptive to and engaged in the implementation of these community based disaster management initiatives, and in the process community members have learnt how to cope with disaster, better prepare for a response and mitigate impacts of recurring disasters. This publication is an anthology of some of the successful stories and best practices of community focused disaster management initiatives undertaken by the communities themselves. It highlights the elements of success, whether it be a model of community mobilization or a simple technology which communities can use and adapt or a process which ensures ownership. I would like to thank all those who were the part of design and implementation of the programme, particularly the local communities who trusted us, put their efforts and actively participated in the programme. This combination of community trust and support intertwined with technical guidance has been key to the success of the programme. I hope the readers of this success stories book will find these experiences gained in managing community based disaster management activities in pilot districts of Nepal, useful and can use some of these best practices for replication in other areas. Anne-Isabelle Degryse-Blateau Country Director UNDP Nepal Acknowledgements This success stories book is dedicated to the local communities of the six districts of Nepal (Chitwan, Makawanpur, Sarlahi, Sindhuli, Tanahu, Syangja) who put their efforts together with the Disaster Risk Management team of UNDP Nepal to identify potential disaster risks and find ways to mitigate them. Local communities have gained adequate knowledge through their direct involvement in disaster management initiatives, which will be helpful to cope with future disaster risks. Staff of the Disaster Risk Management Unit of UNDP are highly acknowledged for their hard work in providing technical support to the local community in design and construction of Community Based Mitigation Structures. Thanks are due to the Forum for Sustainable Development Nepal for collecting the case studies for Community Based Disaster Risk Management activities implemented by UNDP, Nepal. Thanks are also extended to Mr. Krishna Adhikari, a Nepalese Journalist, who was involved in collecting stories about community involvement in DRM activities. Contents Page.No. Millennium Development Goals and Disaster Reduction 2 Floods are a Chronic Problem in the Tarai 6 Better Safe than Sorry 9 Landslide Mitigation and Preparedness Practices 12 Ordinary Lives, Extraordinary Stories 15 United Nations Development been made towards achieving the Millennium Programme/ Bureau for Crisis targets of the Millennium Development Prevention and Recovery’s study in Goals. To achieve this, however, there Development 2004 ranked Nepal as the 11th most is great need to integrate disaster risk at risk country to earthquakes and reduction into development policies Goals and Disaster the 30th to flood risk. Similarly, the and planning. World Bank’s study conducted in 2005 Reduction portrayed Nepal as highly vulnerable Nepal is rich in terms of nature to disaster due to the geographical and bio-diversity but it is equally structure of the country and intensified vulnerable to the adverse effect monsoon. Though landslide is a of natural hazards like flood, natural hazard, different studies show landslides, earthquakes etc. due to that 40 percent of landslides occurring its fragile geological and geo physical in Nepal are due to human activities. conditions, steep topography In last few years, climate change has and extreme weather conditions. emerged as one of the reasons behind According to International Federation the increased incidents of disaster in of Red Cross and Red Crescent Nepal. Lives and property loss can societies, nearly 100,000 Nepalese be reduced if national policies are are being internally displaced every amended to fulfill the commitments year due to natural disasters. made by the United Nations World Conference of 1994 and United The breach of Koshi embankment on Nations World Conference on Disaster 18 August 2008 destroyed property Reduction in 2005. If this happens, a worth billions of rupees in Eastern significant contribution would have Nepal. It resulted in casualty of people Gabion Boxes weaving 2 and the displacement of around 50,000 preparedness for these hazards are This Project commenced operation at locals. Road connectivity between concerned. Although some relief the community level from April 2006. Eastern Nepal and other parts of the measures are undertaken after It encouraged and supported the local country was also disrupted. Floods natural disasters strike, people often communities and people from 42 and landslides in various places have no way out until some concrete wards of Syangja, Tanahu, Chitwan, of Western Nepal including Kailali measures for disaster reduction and Makawanpur, Sarlahi and Sindhuli and Kanchanpur rendered similar risk mitigation are implemented. The districts which were worst hit and calamity in 2008. Every year, floods problem of soil erosion, flood and constantly facing problems of flood, and landslides claim hundreds of landslide is increasing every year, landslide and river cut each year lives and make thousands homeless. mainly because of non-scientific with the onset of monsoon to start Such disasters destroy physical agricultural cultivation systems activities for minimizing the impact of infrastructures and cause negative and haphazard development works these disasters. impact in each and every sector undertaken without considering including the environmental, economic the negative effects exerted on the The project, which was started as a and social sectors. People in the hills environment. It is ironic that the model, has enhanced knowledge of are compelled on a daily basis to live most vulnerable group to suffer the disaster preparedness and disaster with hazards including landslides, soil wrath of natural disasters are the coping skills at the local level. Local erosion and flooding while the people poor. Of them women and children people were trained to enhance their of Tarai have to endure floods, soil are typically the most susceptible. capacity to reduce their risk from erosion and inundation every year. natural hazards. The project also Realizing the gravity of the situation works with the central and local Floods and landslides are natural reflected by alarming mortality and government levels. It is worthy of phenomenon that occur every year in economic loss statistics generated by note that the government is soon the country and much work remainst disasters, UNDP piloted the Community expected to approve a separate to be done as far as mitigation and Based Disaster Management Project. disaster management act and policy. 3 Implementation of the project replicating community-based disaster has contributed indirectly towards